flowers inside

When it’s late-wintry-early-springy outside, it’s awfully nice to have some bright and flowery inside. Here’s a couple of the blossiming things that have been gracing my table lately:

paperwhites

waxflowers

Butternut and Quinoa Soup

My jar of peanut butter came with this recipe and I’m always looking for ways to make a dent in the enormous bag of quinoa I got at Costco, so I got out my cutting board and big pot and got to cooking. It was super-tasty and filling without being heavy and very warming after a snowshoe in weather just barely above zero. The leftovers (pictured above) were even better — a little thicker and peanuttier and way more flavorful. And not only did the peanut butter come with a cool recipe, it also came with an even cooler coupon — buy two jars and get a $10 REI gift card. The card just arrived in the mail the other day and I know a lucky dog who’s gonna get a new collar (the green one, not the pink one).

 I liked this soup well enough that I resolved to make a big pot of it on the occasional Sunday so I can take the leftovers to work for lunch throughout the following week. I didn’t think it would be up Richard’s meat-and-potatoes alley, but he had a second bowl, so there you go. It’s a keeper. I think it would be good with sweet potatoes and carrots added in. Here’s my version — with garlic and celery added because soup just isn’t soup-a-licious enough without those two ingredients. Oh and I didn’t have cilantro so I skipped that ingredient.

Butternut and Quinoa Soup

Serves 6

1T olive oil

1/2 c chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 small stalks celery, chopped

2 c peeled, seeded, cubed (bite-sized) butternut squash

1 c yellow corn

1/2 c chopped red bell pepper

1/4 c peanut butter

3 c chicken broth, divided

1 T cumin

1/2 c quinoa

2T finely minced cilantro 

A sprinkle of cayenne pepper to taste

Cook onions, garlic and celery over medium heat in olive oil until nice and soft. Add squash, bell pepper and corn and cook for five minutes.

Meanwhile, blend together peanut butter, one cup of broth, and cumin in a blender or food processor. Add to pot. Stir in remaining broth and quinoa. Bring to boil then reduce heat to simmer, covered for 10 or 15 minutes, or until quinoa and squash is tender. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Cover pot and allow soup to thicken for 10 minutes. Season to taste with cayenne, if desired.

game day chili

I should have posted about this sooner because I know, I know, the Super Bowl was weeks ago. On the morning-of I checked in on The Facebook and everyone was posting about what they were cooking for the big game. Chili, brats, nachos… my mouth was watering. The brats were really calling my name but those would have required a trip to the store which would have required changing out of my jammies, so chili it was!

God bless chili for being made up of stuff I have in my cupboards and freezer. No showering or getting-dressed required. I just tossed everything in the crockpot and the house was smelling delicious in no time. I even watched ten or fifteen minutes of the game, however long it took me to wolf and swill down everything in the bowl, plate, and glass pictured above.

Slow Cooker Chili

1 pound ground beef

1 kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 medium onion, chopped

Half a green pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

Sour cream

Shredded Cheddar cheese

In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Transfer to a slow cooker. Add the next nine ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4 hours. Garnish individual servings with cheese and sour cream if desired.